UP!–The Afterglow of Our 2015 NJSCBWI Conference :D

Posted on June 16, 2015 by writersideup

I’ve said it many times before and I’ll say it again: KidLit events are WONderful! For me, spending time around kindred spirits, regardless of what we’re doing, is very energizing, uplifting, inspirational and just plain FUN!

I’m a big believer in research and being super-organized for an event of this magnitude and importance (certainly for me), and this year I had the added task of creating a new dummy book. I had less time to do it than I would’ve liked, including the development of 9 characters, but I’m happy to report I did finish and was able to Continue reading →

UP!–NJSCBWI 2015 Conference Personal Schedule Template for Download!

Posted on June 5, 2015 by writersideup

It’s quite a few years now that I’ve been fortunate enough to attend the June New Jersey SCBWI Conference. For those of you unfamiliar, the SCBWI is the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. I was heavily involved with the organizational end of this spectacular event for several years, and in doing so I created countless charts for the many facets comprising it. At that time we provided each of nearly 300 attendees with a pre-filled Personal Schedule for which I designed a version in—of course—none other than chart form. As is the nature with the passing of the organizational “baton,” things change and with that, the method for providing the personal schedules to the attendees. For the past few years they have been generated by RegOnline, the excellent online registration venue our chapter has been using, and this method does the job accurately and swiftly. Continue reading →

UP!–Tracing Paper spells: RELIEF

Posted on May 15, 2015 by writersideup

Well, trusted followers, even if you don’t illustrate or do artwork, I hope you find this article interesting, it showing a small part of my illustration process. Several years ago this was published in our now out-of-print NJ SCBWI Magazine “Sprouts” (posted here in full and accurate). My receiving positive feedback, having been told how this was helpful, I’m hoping it will be so again here. It is important to note that since writing this article, though I still use tracing paper for nearly everything outlined here, I have recently begun using my scanner and Photoshop Elements (PSE) for more ease in composition, scale, and transferring line-drawings to paper to render finished artwork. Whether you do or don’t have access to a scanner or Photoshop, these tips are still very relevant. Also, though images of several of my original characters were used for the print magazine, I chose not to post them on the internet until they are contracted. Instead I created generic, quick sketches for the purpose of this article. With that said, here you go!… Continue reading →

UP!–What’s Worth Celebrating?–CHILDREN’S BOOK WEEK!

Posted on May 4, 2015 by writersideup

It seems to me there are days, weeks and even years of celebration for just about anything anyone can think of, and I can’t say I see the point of many of them, but anyone who knows me knows I agree that children’s books are definitely something to celebrate. Now, did you know (I didn’t!) that this week, May 4-10, the 2015 Children’s Book Week marks its 96th year? How wonderful! And is this poster by Grace Lee precious or what? It gives me the “warm fuzzies” every time I see it 😀 You can get this poster and more through their site, and if you’re a nostalgic soul and like collectibles, the Official Children’s Book Week Store has lots of goodies from the past 96 years. Considering some of the most Continue reading →

UP!–Robert McCloskey: KidLit Legend

Posted on April 22, 2015 by writersideup

It’s hard to believe it’s been 1 1/2 years since I first drafted this post. It was almost a year before I actually launched my blogs! Now that there’s a break between posts involving ReRead-alongs, events I’ve attended and KidLit-related occasions to acknowledge, I can finally share with you this little celebration of a truly great talent:

In wanting to know a bit more about illustrators whose work I admire, I discovered to what extent author/illustrator Robert McCloskey’s work touched the world.

As a renowned author and illustrator, Robert McCloskey has influenced many in the field of children’s literature. Born on September 14, 1914, Robert’s childhood was spent in post-World War I America, in Hamilton, Ohio, with his parents and two younger sisters. His interests were of a creative nature, developing at an early age. Along with art, he enjoyed music, having learned to play the harmonica. He also had a penchant for inventing mechanical devices, which led his parents to encourage him to pursue a career in auto mechanics, believing art was not a viable way to earn a living. However, art won out. Continue reading →